Media was never honest with Kashmir: Shekhar Gupta

Senior journalist Shekhar Gupta today criticised the coverage of Kashmir in the national media, saying the media has never been truthful with the place as truth was considered against national interests.

“The biggest problem in Kashmir is the way the place has been covered in the national media. It is that Kashmir has been seen and covered as a Kashmir problem. It has not been covered as Kashmir region or Kashmir state.

“Because the problem has always been very closely linked to the national security and military security, it has got inexplicably woven in that perspective.

“Kashmir gets a lot of space in national media because through Kashmir comes a threat to India,” Gupta said here.

He was at a function to release ‘Aina Numa’, a collection of writings by former journalist-turned-parliamentarian late Shamim Ahmad Shamim. He said the media covered Kashmir purely as a security story.

“The journalists were parachuted from outside. Mostly they were not Kashmiris and were not well versed with the language or ethos. The media covered Kashmir purely as a security story. The underlying theme always was whether the danger is increasing in Kashmir or decreasing,” the senior journalist said.